My students, clients, and fellow healers are always asking me about healing crystals – what are they, what are they good for, and how do I know which ones to use. In other words, will they make a good addition to their Reiki Toolkit? These questions will require a couple of blogs, but here are some good references in the meantime.
There are lots and lots of books on crystals. Some are more about mineralogy, others about metaphysics, astrology, etc. I focus on the subtle or energetic healing properties and what complements the healing work that I do. The books noted here are about healing crystals.
Many crystal books focus on the pictures, whether they include good quality and clear photos or not. And, because of this, the other content is limited. I prefer a reference with more information on the healing properties because I know what my crystals are when I purchase them and if I need a refresher, the internet provides a wider range of photos for any given crystal than books generally do, so I don’t really need to see a rendition in a book.
References
Melody (1995). Love Is In the Earth: A Kaleidoscope of Crystals: The Updated Reference Book Describing the Metaphysical Properties of the Mineral Kingdom. Earth Love Publishing, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA
Hall, Judy (2006). New Crystals and Healing Stones: A Complete Guide to 150 Recently Available Crystals and Stones. Octopus Publishing, Heron Quays, England.
Peschek-Bohmer and Gisela Schreiber (2002). Healing Crystals and Gemstones From Amethyst to Zircon: A Comprehensive List of the Therapeutic Uses and Healing Effects of the Most Important Crystals and Gemstones. Konecky & Konecky, Old Saybrook, Connecticut, USA.
Simons, Robert; Naisha Ahsian and Hazel Raven. (2005). The Book of Stones: Who They Are and What They Teach.” North Atlantic Books, East Montpelier, Vermont, USA.
Brief Review of Crystal References
Melody’s book provides some discussion of mineral content and crystal structure, but the focus is on healing properties. The information is vast and the coverage is good. There are so many crystals included in this book and lots of crystal variations. Agate includes Angel Wing, Blue Lace, Botryoidal Black, Botswana, and so on and so on for 18 pages. Quartz spans another 53 pages. The book is not monstrously large, just packed. One significant drawback for many users will likely be the lack of photos. There are none. This doesn’t bother me because I just use the internet. This is a must-have reference.
Halls’s book is small and specialized. She includes ‘new to the market’ crystals. The book covers the healing properties of relatively unusual crystals – crystals for which there are limited other sources of information. And, there are very good photos.
Hall has another book called the Crystal Bible (in fact, there is a Crystal Bible 2). I’ve checked the book out on several occasions, and it is definitely a good book. I guess, I just didn’t feel it would expand the information that I already have captured with my collection of books so I didn’t purchase it. This is a good complimentary reference.
These first two are my mainstays. But, I mentioned the third book because, in addition to discussing healing properties, it talks about crystal care, and chakra classification as well as has good photos.
The fourth book, the one by Simons, et al., is new to me. Someone who read my blog suggested it. And a good suggestion it was. It’s a very helpful book for identification or confirmation because it covers so many crystals and it has pictures. It describes the healing properties of each crystal, although, I prefer Melody’s descriptions: the latter is more complete. However, a nice addition is a discussion of which crystals it pairs well with. This is a very nice book and a nice addition to my collection of references.
Unfortunately, there’s no source that’s the best overall. If you have a wide interest or a big crystal collection, you’ll need several books to capture information on your whole inventory.
